Kathy Griffin has shared an update on her relationship announcement that shocked the internet: It was simply a “sociological experiment”.
On Friday, the comedian, 65, announced that she was dating a 22-year-old man with an Instagram post; however, she’s since shared an update explaining that the man in the picture was simply a part of her security detail.
Comedian Kathy Griffin, 65, shocked the world when she hard-launched her supposed new boyfriend, 22, in a cheeky Instagram post. Instagram/@Kathygriffin
“You guys! Thanks to all those who participated in my social media sociological experiment,” she wrote in a statement shared to Instagram the next day.
“No, I’m not dating this 22-year-old. He was helping me with security during my trip to NYC. But… what if I were? The reactions were fascinating.”
Griffin announced the fake relationship by posting an image of the pair entering a car, alongside the caption, “He’s 22. Have at it, internet.”
On Instagram the comments were mostly supportive, one reading “women in male fields,” and another, “Considering how short a time we live on this earth compared to how long we will be dead, age is pretty uninteresting.”
In her statement, Griffin explained that the Instagram comments were fine, but the Threads comments were where she found issue.
“A whole lot more slut-shaming, accusations of “grooming”, and debates about how “gross” it would be for a 65-year-old woman to date a younger man,” she wrote.
“Older men have been dating younger women since the beginning of time… Just ask Luke Wilson, 54, who just had a beautiful baby with his 24-year-old girlfriend or Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Jay-Z and Beyonce… Some of the most long-lasting beautiful relationships in my beloved (though ageist and sexist) industry.
“Relax… just a little harmless fun with you guys with an IG post.”
Kathy Griffin is known to be vocal on the subject of age-gap romances in Hollywood, previously married to a man almost two decades her junior. Amy Sussman
A few comments on the post disagreed with Griffin’s statement, saying that no matter if it’s a man or woman, a large age gap in a romance is never OK.
But, most were supportive of the point she was trying to make.
“They walked right into your act. The real ones knew exactly what you were doing,” wrote one follower.
“The double standard is real. 🩵 You!!,” added another.